Can you hear it? It’s the call of the Wild (Hops)…

It’s harvest time again! We’re calling for your wild and garden hops to help make this year’s vintage of Adnams Wild Hop Amber Pale Ale.
Last year was the first vintage of Wild Hop, which is made from fresh, green hops donated from gardens and wild spaces. Our brilliant hop pickers brought their hops in from across Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire - thanks again to everyone who took part.

How you can take part this year

1. When your hops are ripe (see our handy guide to hop spotting for tips) pick them off the bine into a bag or a box.
2. Get them to our Southwold store as soon as you are able to. If you can’t bring them straight away, please freeze them if possible as they will oxidise quickly.
3. We’re collecting hops between 5th and 19th September 2015.
4. When you drop off your hop cones, please leave your name, postal address and email address so that we can invite you to our Wild Hop harvesters’ event later in the year or, if you can’t make it, we can arrange for you to collect your bottle at your nearest Adnams store.

New for 2015 - Best in Show

Adnams Head Brewer, Fergus, will take a look at everybody’s hops and pick the ‘Best in Show’. Who knows what the prize will be yet, but it’s bound to be worth winning!
If you know someone who has a hop plant growing in their garden and may like to donate their hops for our community brew, please let them know. The more hops we have, the more we can brew!

A few notes on picking hops

You may wish to wear gloves as the bines can be irritating. We’ve also discovered that the best hops always seem to be surrounded by stinging nettles! It is also important that you only pick organically-grown hops, or those that have only been sprayed with food-friendly pesticides. If the land you’re picking hops from does not belong to you, please check that you have permission to harvest them first, and do not pick every last hop. Hops are a great food-source for Comma butterfly caterpillars, so they are great to have in your garden.
Find out more about hop spotting here.